IQiyi recaps robust year with ‘Screening Night 2019’
BEIJING: When scalpers outside the venue are asking for extra tickets instead of selling them, and the spectators don’t hesitate for even a second to walk straight in, you know there must be a huge event on that no one wants to miss.
This was the scene at Screening Night 2019, iQiyi’s annual gala gathering of A-list actors, singers, idols and fans for a look back at the last year in China’s “pan-entertainment” sphere — and a preview of what’s to come.
Right among them was Hong Kong actress Charmaine Sheh, who had starred in the runaway hit series The Story of Yanxi Palace.
During the night of celebrations, professionals from different sectors of the industry received awards in categories such as TV series, music, variety shows, films, and artists.
The hottest TV show was no doubt The Story of Yanxi Palace.
Call it a medieval version of Sex and the City.
It focused on the revolutionary female role of a concubine of Emperor Qianlong, Wei Yingluo, attracted billions of views to the 70 hour-long drama, and incited heated discussion on social media. The show was awarded Drama King of the Year.
iQiyi CEO Gong Yu recalls trusting veteran producer Yu Zheng to deliver a blockbuster hit with The Story of Yanxi Palace. His algorithms have concluded that the show, set in the court of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799), would likely be a winner, based on big data analysis of past viewership patterns of similarlythemed shows.
Both man and machine proved right.
Thus far, it has scored more than 13 billion views.